A fabric winding machine is located below a circular knitting machine to drive a roller to roll up a fabric knitted by the circular knitting machine into a neat bundle. Reference of related techniques can be found in R.O.C. patent Nos. M348770, M307018 and M303921. They all disclose a roller in a cylindrical shape. In order to facilitate removal of the roller after fabric winding operation is finished, the outer diameter of the roller is gradually increased from one end towards the other end. To prevent insufficient friction between the surface of the roller and the fabric during fabric winding, the surface of the roller has to be formed in a non-smooth or anti-slipping fashion. Although the diameter of the cylindrical roller is gradually enlarged, the non-smooth or anti-slipping surface increases the friction between the roller and fabric, this makes removing of the roller difficult.
To remedy the aforesaid dilemma of easy fabric winding but difficult removing, improved techniques have been developed such as R.O.C. patent Nos. I296293 and I248485. Both provide a roller which also has the outer diameter gradually enlarged from one end towards the other end, but the outer surface of the roller is a polygon consisting of multiple planes rather than cylindrical. Such a structure has surface angles to increase friction during fabric winding without forming anti-slipping surfaces and the surfaces may also be smooth. The roller thus formed can facilitate fabric winding, and removing of the roller also is easier due to smaller friction.
While the polygonal roller can solve the problem of the cylindrical one, both of them still have drawbacks in practice, notably:
1. The roller is lengthy and results in a greater contact area between the roller and the fabric. Friction between them also is greater. Removing the roller is difficult and takes more time. The fabric in the middle of the bundle is easily drawn out during removing of the roller. Hence removing the roller is troublesome.
2. As the outer diameter of the roller gradually enlarges towards one end, when the fabric winding machine rotates to drive the roller to roll up the fabric, the fabric tends to skew due to rotation of the fabric winding machine. The entire bundle of the fabric could even be thrown out.